Mobility and a growing focus on the user experience will be a strong focus for organizations in 2016.

Privacy protection will continue to grow in importance, forcing organizations to improve best practices for preventing breaches and safeguarding identities, even after they’re stolen.

HID Global®, a worldwide leader in secure identity solutions, has identified security 2016 trends to watch based on its deep insights gained from top customers across numerous markets, along with pilots and deployments of the company’s latest solutions with forward-looking partners and end-user organizations worldwide. HID Global’s broad industry perspective has positioned the company to pinpoint five key developments that it believes will have the greatest impact during this year on identity and access management, citizen identification and the Internet of Things (IoT).

“We’re watching several developing trends in the new year, including growing demand for a more mobile-centric and satisfying user experience that HID Global believes will be the primary driver for security technology innovation in 2016,” said Stefan Widing, HID Global President and CEO. “Customers will increasingly aspire to a comprehensive secure identity experience for their users that can provide the foundation for more flexible, adaptable solutions in a new era of interconnected digital identities and the Internet of Things.”

HID Global’s 2016 trends point to a more mobile and connected experience, ongoing advancements in privacy protection and broader adoption of best practices for solution deployment. The trends include:

Trend #1: “Mobilizing” security will make it more pervasive and personalized: a new, more secure identity lifestyle will be built around the convenience of ever-present mobile devices. Computer and network logon, driver licenses and other applications will more seamlessly join physical security functions on phones, tablets and laptops. Wearables will be the next step, and phones will also work with RFID tags to add security and trust to the IoT for proof-of-presence applications.

Trend #2: Security will move to a much greater focus on the user experience: This will help close the gap between planning and compliance, while ensuring that security adapts to rather than defines end-user habits and lifestyles. Old ways of authenticating will be replaced by more satisfying alternatives.

Trend #3: Secure, connected identities will fuel safety and innovation in how we work, shop and play: The industry will enter its next new chapter of connected identities, employing multi-layered security strategies that also include biometrics in order to bind these identities to their legitimate owners.

Trend #4: There will be more attention on privacy in an increasingly connected and mobile-first world: Identity will expand beyond people and their personal identity to the identity of objects and their authenticity, accentuating the need to protect personal information across increasingly interconnected devices, services and applications.

Trend #5: Security policies and best practices will become as important as technology advances: The industry will sharpen its focus on not only what to deploy, but how – from the first U.S. mobile driver licenses to unified credential management systems that enable organizations to more holistically address both facility and information security. Rather than focus exclusively on preventing breaches, the industry will also adopt best practices for controlling what happens afterwards, so stolen identities are useless to thieves.

HID Global’s Seos® technology provides the foundation for advancing these trends, making it possible for organizations to confidently incorporate mobile solutions and empower their users with more application than ever before.